


the faces of Natsume Takashi

by Quillium



Series: natsume week 2k19 [5]
Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Tumblr: Natsume Week 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-23 19:45:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19708162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quillium/pseuds/Quillium
Summary: “But I’m the one who forgot,” Natsume says. He makes it sound like a question. Like he’s baffled why Shigeru thinks it’s no big deal.“It’s just groceries,” Shigeru ruffles Natsume’s hair, “Everyone in this family has done it at some point or another.”





	the faces of Natsume Takashi

**i. liar**

Natsume is holding a staring contest with a seven foot youkai in a tuxedo.

He doesn’t know who it is or what it wants but he’s terrified that it’ll wreak havoc on the class the second he breaks eye contact so he keeps staring at it.

It stares back, eyes dark and formless voids, and Natsume feels himself falling, falling, _falling_ —

“Natsume,” the teacher says sharply, tapping his chalk against the blackboard, “Am I boring you?”

“No, sir,” Natsume mumbles.

“Look at me when you speak.”

“I—I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“My—my neck hurts.”

“Perhaps from keeping it in that position for so long. Look at me, Natsume.”

He tears his eyes away from the youkai and tries not to hyperventilate.

“Are you paying attention?”

Eyes darting to the youkai, Natsume nods. The youkai steps forward and he leans back.

“Then you’ll have no problem solving this problem, right?”

The youkai is standing _right in front_ of the blackboard.

“I—I feel ill. May I be excused?” Natsume doesn’t wait for an answer before running.

“He’s always acting out for attention,” he hears the others whisper.

What is he supposed to do? If he lies, he’s a liar by default. If he tells the truth, they call him a liar.

So it stays there, on his forehead, the label _liar liar liar_.

And when he arrives at the Fujiwara’s, he doesn’t expect it to be any different. After all, Natsume has always been called, and always will be called, a liar.

**ii. ward**

“I’m the Fujiwara’s ward,” Natsume introduces himself with a bow.

“Don’t be so stiff,” Nishimura pats his back, “Nishimura. The nerd is Kitamoto.”

“A pleasure,” Kitamoto sticks his hand out, “I’m sorry for any suffering you have to endure by being in the same room as Nishimura. It isn’t his fault that he exists, but it’s our burden to bear.”

“Oi!” Nishimura elbows Kitamoto, “ _Dude_! Don’t give me a bad rep right off the bat!”

“Ah, alright,” Kitamoto raises his eyes, “I’ll wait a week before spreading scandalous rumours about you.”

“So mean, Atsushi,” Nishimura pouts, pressing his face into Kitamoto’s arm and pretending to cry.

“Drama queen,” Kitamoto rolls his eyes and pushes Nishimura away, “The Fujiwaras, eh? They’re a nice couple. Help out pretty often.”

“Yeah,” Natsume nods, “They’re very nice.”

 _We’ll see how long that lasts. Once the truth comes to light_ —he squashes that thought away. It’s not as though he ever expected to be able to stay, it’s best to keep in mind that however kind Touko-san and Shigeru-san are, he’s only here temporarily.

“Well, if you’re staying with them,” Nishimura slings an arm over Natsume’s shoulders, “Then allow me to welcome you.”

**iii. friend**

“Okay, truth,” Nishimura grins as they reach Natsume’s turn, “Nice choice. Kitamoto?”

They’re at Kitamoto’s house for a sleepover, playing _truth or dare_ a bit later in the night than they ought to, surrounded by miscellaneous snacks.

“Uh, what are you thinking of right now?” Kitamoto asks.

“Lame, lame,” Nishimura whines.

Natsume frowns, “The honest truth?”

“Yeah.”

Natsume fiddles with his fingers and Nishimura realizes they may have miscalculated. What if Natsume didn’t feel that close to them? What if Natsume hates them? What if he’d been planning their murders and—okay, that last one maybe isn’t so realistic, but—

“Why did you guys invite me over?”

Oh god. Natsume does hate them. He thinks of them as just classmates. They totally overstepped their boundaries. He’s going to hate them now even though he’s the sweetest person ever who doesn’t hate anyone except he’ll hate them and—

“Not—not that I don’t love being here,” Natsume says quickly, waving his hands, “I just—you two are really close and I don’t want you to have to feel obligated to invite me over just because I hang out with you guys. If you wanted time without me I’d understand or—I—I’m not phrasing this right. I just—you know?”

Kitamoto shoots Nishimura a look that sums up to say _I know you’re freaking out so don’t you dare say a word and just let me handle this_.

“We wanted you here,” Kitamoto says, “Because you’re a good friend and we want to spend more time with you. Because we like being with you. Okay?”

“Friends?” Natsume frowns, “But you have other friends in class who you seemed friendly with—“

“We aren’t as close to them as we are to you,” Nishimura interrupts, “Or at least—I hope so. I want to be closer with you, like with Bakatsushi.”

“Shut up Stupidtoru,” Kitamoto steals a sip of Nishimura’s water because he’s just that mean. He nods at Natsume, “We’d like to think we’re friends. And we want to be close friends. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, I just—“ Natsume smiles a bit, but it looks wobbly like he’s going to cry, “I’ve never really had friends before. I had—almost friends—but I always left too quickly or I was too weird and—“

“Well, you’ll have a home here forever,” Nishimura says firmly, moving closer to hug Natsume, “The Fujiwaras aren’t going to give you up and neither are we. You’re a weirdo but you’re our weirdo.”

“Thank you,” Natsume says quietly.

“No problem,” Kitamoto moves to the other side of Natsume, “What are friends for?”

(Friends are for this: hugging you while you cry past your bedtime, surrounded by a stupid amount of junk food.)

**iv. family**

“You forgot the groceries?”

“Yes,” Natsume whispers. He won’t look Shigeru in the eye and he holds himself stiff, braced, like he wants to run away but is forcing himself to stay still.

“Is that all?” Shigeru asks. Reminds himself to laugh to make Natsume feel more comfortable, “I do that all the time. The way you were acting, we were worried that somebody died.”

“Should I—should I go back out?”

“In this weather?” Shigeru squints out at the small blizzard, “No need. We have food in the fridge, no point in trying to kill yourself over it. And if we do need groceries, I’ll go.”

“But I’m the one who forgot,” Natsume says. He makes it sound like a question. Like he’s baffled why Shigeru thinks it’s no big deal.

“It’s just groceries,” Shigeru ruffles Natsume’s hair, “Everyone in this family has done it at some point or another.”

“Thank you, Shigeru-san.”

“There’s nothing to thank,” Shigeru holds out a hand, “You feeling up to watching a movie tonight? Cold nights like these, there’s nothing better than sitting on a futon with family watching a movie after dinner with ginger tea.”

“If—if that’s okay,” Natsume says.

“More than,” Shigeru smiles, “Touko and I would love it if you joined us. It’s for the whole family, after all.”

As he goes to help Touko figure out what to do about dinner (there are enough leftovers in the fridge that will suffice), Shigeru sees more than hears Natsume mouth _family_ to himself.

Yes, family. And Shigeru’s willing to repeat the word as long as Natsume needs to hear it.

“Movie night with our kid,” Shigeru whispers to Touko, “Sound good?”

Touko smiles at Natsume, soft and fond and just as wrapped around his finger as Shigeru is. “Perfect,” she agrees.

**v. Natsume Takashi**

“For you,” Madara huffs, slipping the seal onto Natsume’s lap, “a birthday gift.”

“It isn’t my birthday for another month,” Natsume says. He lifts the seal and smells the fresh scent of ink and paper, “You aren’t planning to leave, now that the book of friends is empty?”

“Of course not!” Madara scoffs, “It’s just in case.”

“In case of what?”

“In case any of those humans of yours are in danger. If you use this seal correctly, you can protect them.”

“Ah. How sappy.”

“It’s—it’s not like that, stupid Natsume! You humans just amuse me, that’s all!”

“Right, right, of course,” Natsume bites down a smile. “How do I invoke it?”

“Use whatever they know you as. If someone thinks of you a certain way, it’ll connect.”

“How confusing.”

“Well that’s not my fault, you’re just stupid.”

Natsume laughs and tries to think. Some way he is known, huh?

He’s been called a liar. A burden. An attention-seeker.

Family. A friend.

“My name, then,” he says, “Natsume Takashi.”

And the protection covers them all, doesn’t it? Natori, Hiirage and the youkai he loves. Taki, Tanuma, Nishimura, Kitamoto, his friends. Touko, Shigeru and Madara, his family.

And himself, at the center of it all, Natsume Takashi. Proud and certain of who he is.

**Author's Note:**

> Uncertain of the ending but I liked this concept.


End file.
